Low voter turnout expected for primary

It’s going to be another sleepy year for voter turnout at the polls for Tuesday’s primary according to Secretary of State Deborah Markowitz.

It’s the ballot that drives the turn out, she said. This year there are only a few local races on the state Senate and state House side that are at the top of the ticket. Markowitz expects to see about 19 percent voter turnout across the state and that would be reasonable for this type of primary.

“What is great about is it gives our local election officials an opportunity to test our systems because we know in November it will be a very busy election because of the presidential race,” Markowitz said.

The most active race is on the Democratic side for Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie’s seat according to Markowitz. 

Nate Freeman and Tom Costello, the state's two Democratic contenders for lieutenant governor, face the three-term Republican incumbent.

Costello, a 63-year-old Brattleboro lawyer, has been campaign on his extensive experience in the Vermont House.

Freeman, 40, runs an upholstery shop and recently launched a business that sells natural kitty litter. He ran unsuccessfully against Republican Anne Donohue in a 2006 contest for the Vermont House.

“It will drive some turn out,” Markowitz said. “It’s not so dissimilar as it was two years ago in 2006.The most active side was on the Democrat for lieutenant governor.” Voter turnout was also at 19 percent in 2006 she said.

The Vermont state primary is different than the presidential primary where voters are given four private ballots, one for each major party. They place one in the ballot box and the rest are discarded. It is an open primary and can also write-in candidates.

In Montpelier, town Clerk Charlotte Hoyt has seen an increase with absentee ballots. Four years ago there were 120 absentee ballots, this year there have been over 200, she said. More people are turning out in that way, but she only expects about 20 percent at the polls.

Of the 5,800 registered voters, Hoyt expects approximately 2,500 to turn out to the polls.